2005 Mingxiang Yayuan - Hailanghao "Motian Yinhao"

Liquid wildflowers.

This is a cake kindly bought by proxy, by Nada. I didn't see this one on Nadacha, however.

You know by now how much I like Hailanghao, it being reliable and fairly priced. This cake is a chubby chappy.

"Motian" literally means "reach heaven", but is the word also used for "skyscraper". I do love the poetic nature of Chinese. "I work in a reach-heaven." It sounds almost tolerable.

"Yinhao" is "silver fur", referring to the young tip leaves, pictured below. This cake has a sufficient number of dark leaves in its blend to keep me happy - I'm not usually one for enjoying cakes made purely of buds, as they are a touch simplistic for all their creamy flavours.

Surprisingly enough, the aroma is complex - I have enjoyed this tea several times over the summer, and it is always the complex aroma of wildflowers that draws me back.

The honest, yellow brew is really very enjoyable - it mixes grassy, "meaty" Biluochun with honey and mushrooms, and wraps it up in a satisfying acidity that its pure-bud cousins lack.

Breathing out after a cup brings all those wildflowers back into the nose...

As the sessions wear on, I notice a tendency towards green roughness, which I usually associate with plantation leaves. At this stage, it pays to back off and not push too hard.

I've been drinking it all morning and afternoon, totalling over 20 infusions, and it still gives sweetness and those eternal wildflowers...

Thanks to Nada for identifying this friendly, enjoyable tea. It is one of the few yinhao teas that I have found appealing, primarily due to its blend of darker leaves.

Good old Hailanghao...